JPH07291451A - Box stacking method and device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a method and device which can stack boxes having the same bottom shape but different heights effectively so that a certain specified height is obtained. CONSTITUTION:Those of the boxes having different heights which are difficult to stack are in advance specified and stored temporarily on rack conveyors 24b, 24c of a conveyor rack 24, while boxes easy to stack are stacked directly. Thus the efficiency of the stacking works can be enhanced by carrying out the stacking with the hard-to-stack boxes put aside. The boxes in standby on the rack conveyors 24b, 24c are forwarded to the second conveyor 23 together with other boxes which are fed by a conveyor 21 and admit combining with the standby boxes to generate the specified height, and they are stacked as one set. Therefore, even hard-to-stack boxes can be stacked properly.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for stacking boxes, and more particularly to a stacking method and apparatus suitable for stacking boxes having the same bottom shape but different heights to a predetermined height. Regarding the device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When exporting an automobile, it is common to disassemble the finished product into individual parts, transport them overseas, and assemble them locally (knockdown).
FIG. 12 shows the process of loading the parts for export into the container, but the parts for knockdown are stored in plastic “Kayo box” 11 from each parts maker to the distribution center. It will be carried. This good box 1
Since 1 is used repeatedly, the parts are refilled in a disposable cardboard box 13. The cardboard box 13 containing the parts is packed in an iron pallet 15 and then loaded in a container.

Cardboard box 13 before loading into a container
The pallet 15 is packed in order to form a lump for loading in the container, but in order to improve the efficiency of the packing work, the pallet 15 is actually packed in the pallet 15. Cardboard box 1
It is necessary to create 3 sets in advance.

[0004]

The bottom shape of the cardboard box 13 is set to be the same in order to improve the storage efficiency, but the height of the cardboard box 13 is different so that various parts can be stored. There is. From this, in order to efficiently pack the pallet 15 by knocking down,
It is necessary to properly combine a plurality of boxes having different heights so that they can be stacked at a certain height (height of the pallet 15).

However, there is generally provided a method or apparatus for appropriately combining boxes randomly picked up from a group of boxes composed of a plurality of boxes having different heights and stacking them at a certain height. Didn't.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to extract a box arbitrarily extracted from a box group composed of a plurality of types of boxes having different heights.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method and an apparatus that can be combined and stacked so as to have a predetermined height.

[0007]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, in the stacking method and apparatus according to the present invention, the boxes which are difficult to combine to have a set height are previously prepared. If the box specified and identified as difficult to combine is taken out, it is temporarily stored and the box that can be combined with the stored box is taken out. It is characterized by combining them and stacking them.

That is, in the stacking method according to the invention of claim 1 of the present application, the boxes that are arbitrarily taken out from the box group composed of a plurality of boxes having different heights are set in advance. A method of stacking in combination so as to have a height, and considering a combination pattern of boxes that are created by combining boxes included in the group of boxes so as to have the preset height. However, the box having a height at which it is difficult to form the combination pattern is specified in advance, and when the box at which the combination pattern is difficult to form is taken out, it is temporarily stored, and the box is stored. It is characterized in that when a box product capable of forming a combination pattern with an existing box product is taken out of the box product group, they are combined and stacked.

In the stacking method according to the invention of claim 2 of the present application, in the stacking method according to claim 1, there are a plurality of permutation patterns created by rearranging the stacking order of boxes for the combination pattern. When present, the lighter boxes are stacked on top of each other, or the stacked boxes are rearranged in order of weight.

Further, in the stacking device according to the third aspect, the boxes included in the box group composed of a plurality of boxes having different heights are combined so as to have a preset height. An apparatus for stacking, comprising: (1) a transport means for transporting stacked boxes contained in the group of boxes, and a loading machine for loading the boxes sent from the transport means at a predetermined position. ,
A storage unit that stores the box, a transfer machine that moves the box between the storage and the transport unit, and an identification unit that identifies the height of the box, and (2) the above Storage means for storing the boxes specified as being difficult to combine the boxes included in the box group so as to have the preset height, and (3) stored in the storage means. A controller for controlling the transfer machine based on the information and the information from the identifying means, wherein the box sent by the carrying means is identified as (3a) difficult to combine. In the case of a box, the box is moved to the storage unit, and (3b) the box that can be combined with the box stored is sent to the box. A controller that controls the transfer machine so that the transfer device is moved to the transfer means. By stacking the sent boxes and the stored boxes in combination, the boxes randomly picked up from the group of boxes are stacked to a specific height. It is characterized by doing.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the stacking apparatus, the boxes included in a box group composed of a plurality of boxes having different heights are combined so as to have a preset height. A transporting means for transporting stacked boxes contained in the box group, a storage section capable of temporarily storing the transported boxes, and an identifying means for identifying the height of the boxes, Based on the result of the identification means, the transported box is temporarily stored in the storage unit until a combination condition that a predetermined height is satisfied, and the box when the combination condition is satisfied. It is characterized in that a transfer means for stacking is provided.

In the stacking apparatus according to a fifth aspect, in the stacking apparatus according to the third or fourth aspect, the storage means further includes a combination of boxes having the preset height, The permutation pattern created by rearranging the stacking order of boxes is stored, and the device
Further, based on the information stored in the storage means and the information from the identification means, the boxes stacked in the certain combination are placed so that the boxes having lower heights are positioned higher. It is characterized in that it is provided with a rearranging means for exchanging.

Among the boxes included in the group of boxes, it is difficult to form a combination pattern having a preset height, or the boxes are combined so as to have a preset height. The identification of boxes that are difficult to do is based on heuristics. However, this identification is based on, for example, whether the box is a box having a height that is a divisor of a preset height, or whether the box is applicable to many combination patterns. You can go.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a gripping device for gripping a box, the frame having a passage opening through which the box to be gripped passes, and the frame is exposed on the frame through the passage opening. And a means for rotating a given box by a predetermined amount to form overlapping portions of the four corners of the box and the frame body, and supporting the box at the overlapping portion.

[0015]

In the stacking method according to the invention of claim 1 of the present application having the above-mentioned configuration, the combination pattern of the boxes is considered, and the boxes in which the combination patterns are difficult to form are specified in advance. Then, when a box that is difficult to form a combination pattern is taken out, it is temporarily stored, and a box that can form a combination pattern with the stored box is taken out from the box group. Sometimes they are combined and stacked. As a result, the boxes that are not difficult to form the combination pattern are stacked so that the height is set in advance while eliminating the influence of the difficult boxes, while it is difficult to form the combination pattern. Since the boxes are always stacked as a set with the boxes capable of forming a combination pattern with the boxes, the boxes can be stacked efficiently without being affected by the difficulty of forming the combination patterns.

In the stacking method according to the invention of claim 2 of the present application, when there are a plurality of permutation patterns created by rearranging the stacking order of the boxes, the combination patterns are stacked on top of each other. If the boxes are lighter than the boxes already stacked, stack them as they are. On the other hand, when the boxes which are heavier than a certain box are stacked in the predetermined combination pattern, the stacking order of the boxes is switched. As a result, in the stacking method according to the second aspect, the lighter boxes are stacked on the upper side.

The stacking apparatus according to claim 3 is an apparatus suitable for carrying out the stacking method according to claim 1. That is, in the stacking apparatus according to claim 3, the controller provided therein has a box sent by the carrying means based on the information stored in the storage means and the information from the identifying means. Is a box specified as being difficult to combine, the box is moved to the storage unit, and a box that can be combined with the stored box is sent. The transfer machine is controlled so as to move the stored boxes to the transfer means.
As a result, the stored boxes and the boxes that have been sent are continuously sent to the transfer machine, so that they are always combined as a set and stacked. On the other hand, boxes that are not difficult to combine are sent to the transfer machine as they are without being stored and stacked. Therefore, the boxes randomly picked up from the group of boxes can be stacked so as to have a specific height (preset height).

In the stacking apparatus according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, based on the result of the identifying means, the transported boxes are temporarily stored in the storage section until a combination condition is reached in which the boxes have a predetermined height. The boxes are stacked when the combination condition is satisfied. This is done by the transfer means.

The stacking device according to a fifth aspect is a device suitable for carrying out the stacking method according to the second aspect, and the information stored in the storage means and the information stored in the storage means by the rearrangement means provided. Based on the information from the identification means, the boxes that are stacked in a certain combination are exchanged so that the boxes having lower heights are positioned higher.
Here, since it is general that the lower the height of the boxes is, the lighter the boxes are, the lighter the boxes are, the more the boxes are stacked, and the stacking method according to claim 2 can be easily implemented. .

In the gripping device according to the sixth aspect, while passing the stacked boxes through the passage port, the frame moves to the bottom surface of the box to be gripped, and the frame is exposed on the frame through the passage port. By rotating a given box by a predetermined amount, the four corners of the box are overlapped with the frame. Then, when the frame is raised in this state, the box is supported by the overlapping portion and the box is lifted. In this case, since the gripping device supports and lifts the bottom of the box, the box can be easily gripped without a handle or the like.
This gripping device is the stacking device according to claim 5,
It is suitable for exchanging stacked boxes.

[0021]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

The height of the iron pallet 15 shown in FIG. 12 is generally 800 mm. The height of the cardboard boxes 13 packed in the pallet 15 is 1 for each 800 mm of the pallet 15.
00mm, 200mm, 300mm, 800 / 3mm,
It is usually set to 400 mm (Fig. 1).
It should be noted that in this embodiment, for ease of explanation,
The height of mm is simply "8", 100mm, 200m
The heights of m, 300 mm, 800/3 mm and 400 mm are simply “1”, “2”, “3”, “8/3”,
Set to "4".

[Difficulty of combining cardboard boxes] In order to combine these five types of cardboard boxes 15 to a height of 800 mm, 16 combinations are possible (FIG. 2). In this specification, a, b, c ... Shown in FIG. 2 are each defined as a “combination pattern” of a cardboard box.

Examining the difficulty of combination depending on the height of the cardboard box, it is empirically known that the "8/3" box is the most difficult to combine. This is because the "8/3" box can make a height of 800 mm only when three of them are combined, and cannot be combined with other boxes. That is, when the "8/3" box is first transported, it is not possible to stack more "1", "2" or "4" boxes on it. Next to the "8/3" box is the "3" box. The "3" box is
This is because it is necessary to stack boxes of "1" or "3" in order to make the height of "8".

On the other hand, the boxes "1", "2" and "4" are
Each combination has a high degree of freedom, and most boxes can be stacked on top of this, and an appropriate combination can be created. Here, as shown in FIG. 3, the number of application of the combination pattern according to the height of the box is "1", "2",
It decreases in the order of "3", "4", "8/3". "3"
Despite the fact that the number of combination patterns that can be applied to the box of "4" is larger than that of the box of "4", it is considered that it is not a divisor to "8" that it is difficult to stack in experience. . The difficulty of stacking also appears to be determined by the box that is placed first. However, for example, when the number of types of boxes is extremely large and it is difficult to find a rule of thumb, specify a box with a small number of applicable combination patterns as a box that is difficult to stack, and You may make an appropriate change and correct it to the optimum one.

First Embodiment The first embodiment relates to the inventions of claims 1, 3 and 4 of the present application.

[Stacking Method] In view of the above-mentioned preconditions, in this embodiment, the boxes having the heights of "3" and "8/3" are specified as boxes which are difficult to stack. And FIG.
As shown in, after the data acquisition (S101), the height of the cardboard box is measured, and the height is "1",
If it is "2" or "4", it is conveyed as it is (S103) and stacked (S104).
When the height of the box is "3" or "8/3", this is temporarily stored (S106), and in parallel with this, another box is stacked (S103). . Further, in the stacking method according to the present embodiment, it is determined whether or not a box capable of forming a combination pattern with the stored boxes has been sent (S107).
When a combinable box is sent, the stored box is unstored and conveyed (S103), conveyed together with the combinable box, and these are combined and stacked ( S104). Therefore, when boxes that are difficult to combine are sent, they are temporarily stored, and when boxes that can be combined with them are sent, they are combined and stacked.

More specifically, for example, when an "8/3" box is sent, it is sorted in S102 and temporarily stored (S106). This "8 /
Up to 2 boxes will be stored. And this "8
The third "8 /
If the 3 ”box is sent, it is determined in S107 that a combinable box has been sent, and the two stored“ 8/3 ”boxes are transferred to the transfer step S103. It will be sent and will be carried at the same time as the "8/3" boxes sent later, and as a result, these will be combined and stacked (S104). Therefore, "8 /
The 3 ”boxes will always be stacked in one set. On the other hand, while the “8/3” boxes are being stored, the stacking of “1”, “2” or “4” height boxes is continued in parallel, so It is possible to prevent the stacking work from being interrupted by being affected.

[Stacking Apparatus] FIG. 5 shows the construction of a stacking apparatus suitable for carrying out the method of the present invention.
The stacking apparatus according to the present embodiment includes a first transfer conveyor 21 and a second transfer conveyor 2 that transfer the cardboard boxes 13.
3, a conveyor shelf 24 that plays a role as a storage unit that temporarily stores the cardboard box 13, a mounting table 26 on which stacking is performed, and a controller 27 that controls the movements of these. ing. Controller 27
Controls based on the information stored in the memory 28. Also, in the embodiment, the first transfer conveyor 2
1, a means for detecting the height of the cardboard box 13 is provided. This height detecting means is a bar code reader 29 in the embodiment, and detects the height by reading the bar code attached to the cardboard box 13.
The detected height information is sent to the controller 27 and used as control data. Further, in the embodiment, the transfer of the cardboard box 13 to the mounting table 26 is performed secondly by the transfer arm 31 provided at the end of the transfer conveyor 23. As will be described later, the stacking of the cardboard boxes 13 is performed by the joint work of the transfer arm 31 and the mounting table 26. Therefore, in this embodiment, the transfer arm corresponds to the "loading machine" of claim 3. 31 and the mounting table 26. In addition, in the embodiment, the gripping device 33 is provided on the upper portion of the mounting table 26, but the functional configuration will be described in the second embodiment described later.

A characteristic of the stacking apparatus according to this embodiment is that the conveyor shelves 24 have three shelves.
a, 24b and 24c, the conveyor shelves 24 move up and down, and the boxes can be moved between the two shelves when the shelving conveyors match the lines of the first and second transfer conveyors. Like Here, the reason why the conveyor rack 24 has three stages is to temporarily store two types of cardboard boxes of heights "3" and "8/3", respectively. Further, the vertical movement of the conveyor rack 24 depends on the height of the cardboard box 13 sent to the controller 2
It is performed under the control of 7.

[Operation] In the stacking apparatus according to this embodiment, stacking on the mounting table 26 is performed by the joint work of the transfer arm 31 and the mounting table 26. That is, the transfer arm 31
Moves the cardboard box 13 horizontally from the end of the second transfer conveyor 23. And the cardboard box 13
On the other hand, the mounting table 26 rises to support the bottom of the cardboard box 13. When the transfer arm 31 releases the cardboard box 13 in this supported state, the cardboard box 13 is placed on the table 26. In this case, if the cardboard boxes are already stacked, a new cardboard box is loaded on top of it. The controller 27 adjusts these operations.

In the stacking apparatus according to this embodiment,
When a cardboard box having a height of "1", "2", or "4" is being sent, the conveyor shelf 24 uses the line of the uppermost shelf conveyor 24a as that of the first and second transfer conveyors. After making the same, the cardboard boxes are successively sent to the mounting table 26 and stacked.

However, when a cardboard box having a height of "8/3" or "3" is sent, it is temporarily stored in the shelf conveyor 24b or 24c, respectively. When storing "8/3" cardboard boxes,
The line of the shelf conveyor 24b is the transfer conveyors 21 and 23.
The conveyor rack 24 is raised until it is the same as that of the above. Then, in a state where these lines match, the "8/3" cardboard box is transferred from the first transfer conveyor 21 to the shelf conveyor 24b. When the cardboard box is moved to the shelf conveyor 24b, the conveyor shelf 24 descends again, and "1",
The "2" or "4" cardboard box is transferred to the transfer arm 31 as usual. Such a box storing operation is performed until two "8/3" boxes are stored. This is the same for the box of "3", and two boxes are stored on the corresponding shelf conveyor 24c.

Here, in the state where two cardboard boxes having a height of "8/3" are stored on the shelf conveyor 24b, a cardboard box having a height of "8/3" is loaded by the bar code reader 29. If it is detected, the line of the shelf conveyor 24b moves up to the height of the transfer conveyors 21 and 23. In this case, the shelf conveyor 24b is
The cardboard box 13 is transferred from the first transfer conveyor 21 to the second transfer conveyor 23. Therefore, the two "8/3" boxes stored on the shelf conveyor 24b are both sent to the second transfer conveyor 23 and transferred from the first transfer conveyor 21 to "8/3". The box
It is sent from the first transfer conveyor 21 to the second transfer conveyor 23 via the shelf conveyor 24b. Therefore, three corrugated cardboard boxes having a height of "8/3" are successively transferred to the mounting table 26, and a combination pattern having a height of "8" can be easily formed. In addition,
If there are already two "3" boxes, one more "2" box is required to achieve the height "8". Therefore,
In the embodiment, in the state where two boxes of “3” are stored,
When the box “2” is loaded, the conveyor shelves 24 are raised and stacked.

In this way, in the stacking apparatus according to the present embodiment, first, the cardboard boxes having the height of "8/3" or "3", which had been an obstacle in the conventional stacking, are carried. In case of damage, it is possible to store them temporarily so that they can be smoothly stacked, so that boxes that are difficult to stack can be eliminated and stacked. Further, in the stacking device according to the present embodiment, the shelf conveyors 24b and 24b
The boxes stored in c are stacked by stacking the boxes that can be combined with the boxes to the second transfer conveyor 23 when the boxes are sent from the conveyor 21 and stacking them as one set. Even in difficult boxes, stacking is done accurately. In this way, in the stacking apparatus according to the present embodiment, the boxes that are easy to stack can be stacked without being disturbed by the boxes that are difficult to stack, and at the same time, the boxes that are difficult to stack can be stacked. Since the stacking is performed only after the state is reached, the stacking work efficiency can be improved as a whole.

In the present embodiment, the number of shelves of the conveyor shelves 24 is three, but this number of shelves can be freely set according to the number of boxes specified as difficult to stack.

Second Embodiment The second embodiment relates to the invention of claims 2 and 5 of the present application, and relates to a method and apparatus for stacking light cardboard boxes higher.

[Permutation Pattern] The permutation pattern is created by changing the stacking order of a certain combination pattern. There are several permutation patterns for a single combination pattern with a height of "8", unless they consist only of combinations of boxes of the same type (FIGS. 6 and 7). For example, as shown in FIG.
There are 6 kinds of permutation patterns for the combination pattern consisting of the boxes of "1", "3" and "4".
As shown in FIG. 7, there are 12 kinds of permutation patterns for the combination pattern composed of cardboard boxes “1”, “1”, “2”, and “4”. this house,
The purpose of this second embodiment is to form a permutation pattern in which smaller boxes are stacked on top of each other as shown in FIG. 6 (a) or FIG. 7 (a). For that purpose, when small boxes are stacked on top of a large box, stacking is done as it is, and when the opposite phenomenon occurs, it is necessary to rearrange the order. Become. In this embodiment, this object is achieved in accordance with the flowchart shown in FIG.

[Adjustment of Stacking Order] As shown in FIG. 8, in the second embodiment, after the data is taken in (S201), the height of the boxes already stacked and the stacking from now on. The height of the box to be compared is compared (S202),
If the height of the stacked boxes is lower, the boxes are stacked as they are (S203). On the other hand, when the height of the stacked boxes is larger, the cardboard boxes with a lower height are once removed (S205), and the removed boxes are stacked (S206). The removed boxes are returned to stack the boxes below the already stacked boxes (S207). S20
The removal of the cardboard box in FIG. 5 is performed by the joint work of the holding means 33 and the mounting table 26 shown in FIG. That is, the cardboard box to be removed is lifted up to the height of the gripping means 33 by the mounting table 26, where the box to be removed is gripped and then the mounting table 26 descends. Then, by stacking new cardboard boxes in that state, it becomes possible to stack the boxes below the already stacked boxes. It should be noted that the boxes are stacked in the order of their heights because the heights and weights of the boxes are generally proportional, and it is efficient to use the heights detected in the first embodiment. Therefore, the weights may be separately detected in order to faithfully stack in the order of weight.

[Sorting of Stacking Order] In this embodiment, the order of boxes already stacked can be rearranged (FIG. 9).

That is, according to this rearrangement method, after the data is taken in (S301), the first stage removal of the box is performed (S302), and then the second stage removal is performed (S303). ). Next, the cardboard boxes removed in the first step are loaded (S304), and the cardboard boxes removed in the second step are loaded (returned) on the cardboard boxes (S305). Will be replaced. In the embodiment, the removal in the first step in S302 is performed by returning the cardboard box to the second transfer conveyor 23 by the transfer arm 31 after the mounting table 26 is raised. In the second-stage removal in S303, after the first-stage removal is performed, the mounting table 26 is raised and the gripping device 33 is moved.
By holding the cardboard box. The rearrangement of the stacking order is finally performed by the second transfer conveyor 23.
It is performed by returning from the gripping device 33 after the return from.

[Gripping device] The corrugated cardboard box 13 used for knockdown usually has no handle or the like. This is to prevent the damage of the cardboard box 13 during transportation so as to prevent it from being damaged, and to eliminate the gap to improve the filling rate of the container. It has caused difficulties. Therefore, in order to change the stacking order according to the present invention, it is necessary to use a gripping device that can grip without a handle and does not damage the cardboard box when gripping. The gripping device 33 described below can easily achieve such an object.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the end portion of the stacking apparatus according to this embodiment, showing the final stacking state and the operating state of the gripping device 33. As described above, the cardboard box carried by the second transfer conveyor 23 is transferred to the mounting table 26 by the transfer arm 31.
The cardboard box transferred by the transfer arm 31 is mounted on the mounting table 2
It is received by 6 (for this reason, the mounting table 26 rises). As shown in FIG. 10, in the embodiment, the gripping device 33 is attached to the end of the second transfer conveyor 23 together with the transfer arm 31. And transfer arm 3
It is installed above 1 in parallel with it.

11A and 11B are views showing the structure of the gripping device 33 according to this embodiment, in particular, FIG. 11A is its plan view and FIG. 11B is its side view. The gripping device 33 is an embodiment corresponding to the invention of claim 6.

As shown in FIG. 11, the gripping device 33 according to this embodiment includes a frame body 36 having a passage opening 35 for passing the box, and an arm 37 for horizontally rotating the box on the frame body 36. ,have. In the embodiment, the arm 37
The driving force is generated by the air cylinder 38. In such a gripping device 33, as shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, the size of the passage port 35 is set to be slightly larger than that of the stacked boxes, and the stacked boxes can freely pass through the passage port 35. With this gripping device, if you want to grip a box,
The frame body 36 moves to a position where the bottom surface of the box and the upper surface of the frame body 36 coincide with each other. Then, as shown in FIG. 11A, a rotating force is applied to the cardboard box by the arm 37, whereby the cardboard box is slightly rotated. Then, four corners of the cardboard box and the frame 36 have overlapping portions 39, and the overlapping portions 39 can support the cardboard box 13. That is, in the gripping device 33 according to this embodiment, the cardboard box is rotated on the frame 36 to form the overlapping portion 39, and the cardboard box is supported by this portion. By doing so, the gripping device 3 according to the present embodiment
In 3, the cardboard box 13 can be easily gripped. When lowering the gripped cardboard box, the shifted cardboard box is returned by the arm 37 so that the cardboard box can pass through the passage port 35. By adopting such a gripping device 33, the corrugated cardboard box can be easily gripped without causing damage or the like, and the stacking order according to the present invention can be changed.

Although the stacking method and the stacking apparatus according to the present embodiment have been described above, the classification as to whether a box is easy to form a combination pattern or not can be freely set according to an empirical rule. . Further, when inconvenience occurs due to the application of this method or device, the contents of the memory 28 can be freely changed to deal flexibly. Further, in this embodiment, the stacking of boxes having the same bottom shape has been described. However, since the bottom shape is not a parameter when the present invention is applied, according to the device or method of the present invention, As long as the strength / stability during stacking does not cause any problem, stacks having different bottom shapes can be easily stacked up to a specific height.

[0047]

According to the stacking method and apparatus of the present invention, boxes having different heights can be stacked efficiently at a specific height.

By stacking lighter boxes on top of each other, stability of stacking and safety of transportation are ensured.

Further, when the gripping device according to the present invention is used, it is possible to easily grip a box having no handle or the like without damaging the box. Can be effectively rearranged.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing types of boxes adopted in an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a combination pattern formed using the box of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the difficulty of forming a combination pattern.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a stacking method according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a stacking device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining that there are a plurality of permutation patterns for one combination pattern.

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining that there are a plurality of permutation patterns for one combination pattern.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a stacking method according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an operation flow when changing the stacking order of stacked boxes.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a configuration of an end portion of the stacking device according to the embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a configuration of a gripping device 33 according to the embodiment. In particular, FIG. 11A is a plan view and FIG. 11B is a side view.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a flow of box stacking and transportation at the time of knockdown.

[Explanation of symbols]

 13 Cardboard Box 21 First Transfer Conveyor 23 Second Transfer Conveyor 24 Conveyor Shelf 26 Mounting Platform 27 Controller 28 Memory 29 Bar Code Reader (Height Detector) 31 Transfer Arm 33 Grip Device 35 Passage Port 36 Frame 37 Arm 39 Overlap

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A method of stacking boxes, which are arbitrarily taken out from a group of boxes composed of a plurality of boxes having different heights, by combining them so that each box has a preset height. In consideration of a combination pattern of the boxes created by combining the boxes included in the box group so as to have the preset height, a box having a height at which it is difficult to form this combination pattern In advance, when the box which is difficult to form the combination pattern is taken out, it is temporarily stored, and the box which is capable of forming a combination pattern with the stored box is A method characterized in that when they are taken out from a group of boxes, they are combined and stacked. 2. The stacking method according to claim 1, wherein when there are a plurality of permutation patterns created by rearranging the stacking order of the boxes for the combination pattern, the lighter the box, the stacking is performed. Or a stacked method in which stacked boxes are rearranged in order of weight. 3. An apparatus for stacking and stacking boxes included in a box group composed of a plurality of boxes having different heights so that the boxes have a preset height, (1) Conveying means for conveying the stacked boxes contained in the box group, a loading machine for loading the boxes sent from the conveying means at a predetermined position, and a storage section for storing the boxes,
A transfer machine for moving a box between the storage section and the transport means, and an identification means for identifying the height of the box are provided, and (2) the boxes included in the box group are Storage means for storing a box specified as being difficult to combine so as to have the preset height, and (3) information stored in the storage means and information from the identification means. A controller for controlling the transfer machine based on the above, wherein when the box sent by the transport means is (a) the box specified as being difficult to combine, the box is concerned. (B) When the box that can be combined with the box that is stored is sent, the box that is stored is moved to the transfer means. A controller that controls the mounting machine By stacking the boxes and the stored boxes in combination, the boxes randomly picked from the group of boxes are stacked to a specific height. apparatus. 4. A stacking device for combining boxes included in a group of boxes having different heights so as to have a preset height, Conveying means for conveying the stacked boxes contained therein, a storage section capable of temporarily storing the conveyed boxes, and an identifying means for identifying the height of the boxes, the result of the identifying means Based on the above, a transfer means is provided for temporarily storing the transported boxes in the storage unit until a combination condition for achieving a predetermined height is satisfied, and stacking the boxes when the combination conditions are satisfied. Stacking device. 5. The stacking apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the storage means further rearranges the stacking order of the boxes for a certain combination of boxes having the preset height. The created permutation pattern is stored, and the device further determines the height of the boxes stacked in the certain combination based on the information stored in the storage means and the information from the identification means. A stacking device comprising rearrangement means for rearranging boxes such that boxes having lower heights are located higher. 6. A gripping device for gripping a box, the frame having a passage opening through which the box to be gripped passes, and the box exposed on the frame through the passage is rotated by a predetermined amount. And a means for forming overlapping portions of the four corners of the box and the frame body, wherein the box is supported by the overlapping portions.